This invention pertains to mechanical sealing assemblies, and in particular to such sealing assemblies that use a fully split cartridge mechanical seal assembly, for use in overcoming inherent handling and assembly problems, due to the complexity of the multitude of delicate components and loose parts and the difficulty of fitting them together precisely and accurately to insure a proper seal.
Mechanical seals are well known in the field and the difficulties found in these systems are well known. Since mechanical seals are Subjected to wear, corrosion, abrasion vibration, thermal, pressure and other effects, they must be replaced periodically. This normally may require the removal of the coupling, bearings and motor which can be a very involved and costly procedure with a lot of resulting down time for the equipment. By splitting the mechanical seal allows for the assembly and disassembly of the seal without dismantling the equipment.
There have been a number of attempts to deal with these difficulties. Examples of these type devices include the United States Patent issued to Azibert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,384 on 18 Mar. 1986 and the United States Patent issued to Ballard U.S. Pat. No. 4,576,383 also issued on 18 Mar. 1986. A U.S. Pat. No. 3,025,070 issued to J. C. Copes for a Split Mechanical Seals on 13 Mar. 1962 is another example of standard mechanical seals. The general function of these references and a number of others in the art is to have a rotating seal assembly attached to a shaft or sleeve and a non-rotating seal assembly attached to a stationary housing or chamber surrounding the shaft or sleeve. However, all of these designs and many others still have inherent problems. The primary difficulty is that these devices have a great number of loose parts that must be handled with extreme care, especially the two precision manufactured primary faces to insure good seal performance and life. They also require measurements, or the use of various shims or special tools to set and align the seal assembly accurately. They typically use internal clamping designs with their limitations of torsional and axial holding power to locate on the rotating shaft or sleeve and cannot be moved after setting without complete disassembly of the seal if readjustment is required. Some also require a receiving unit on the outer faces of the outer flange of the stationary hounding or chamber which assists the concentricity of the seal assembly to the rotating shaft.
It is the object of this invention, then to set forth a split mechanical seal assembly which avoids the disadvantages limitations, above-recited, which obtain in prior mechanical sealing apparatus. It is also the object of this invention to teach a fully split cartridge mechanical seal assembly that can be positioned on a rotating shaft or sleeve easily and quickly and which will eliminate many of the problems found in standard mechanical sealing systems.